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Hi SBers,
I just found a new iteration of the Willett straight rye series - 5 year, 110 proof....they have slowly been upping the age statement...first 2, then 3, then 4, now 5...wonder what the thought process was behind all of this LDI rye release? So far I've had the 3, 4, and have yet to open the 5...has anyone else tried it yet?
I bought one on Thursday and will get it in the mail tomorrow. I'll post tasting notes.Quote:
Originally Posted by humchan2k
This is a post I made in January in the What Rye are you enjoying thread. I'm about 1/2 through this bottle and really enjoying it. Only other note I would add is a sweet herbal note, which is quite nice with the dry finish. I really like this bottle. Let me know your thoughts.
Bill.
"Willett Single Barrell: 5 year, 110 proof.
Just opened this bottle.
Color: honey
Nose: minty, oaky
Taste: Dry, oaky with a long deep minty-rye finish
I'm really enjoying this. Very high quality rye. Nice price also."
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I'm pretty sure party source has had that for a while.
Okay, tasting notes for the first pour. It scarcely needs mentioning that it will change over time after opening.
Nose: Not that much, surprisingly. I've got it in a Glencairn, which should concentrate the nose. More than anything, I get a sweetness and slightly underripe orange, like when you get a nice deeply colored orange and bit into a slice, but it's sharp and acidic instead of juicy and sweet. Not so much fun to eat, but pretty nice to smell. I imagine orange bitters are like this.
Palate: Mint and ginger along with the slightly underripe orange again. This is serious orange, like eating a piece with a lot of the white stuff on it. Vegetal, a bit bitter, sharp and acidic. There is some very welcome cinnamon, not something I usually get in young ryes. A sweetness and sort of blunted roundness keeps this from being too sharp. It's pretty even-keeled, actually. There is very little of the pickle juice flavor I usually get from LDI stuff. No cherries, either.
Finish: a bit softer and with plenty barrel char, and a bit of vanilla. This is where the age shows up most. A bit of the sharper LDI flavor, but it's just mixed in with the other flavors.
To sum up, it's almost as though a young LDI was blended with OWA. The cinnamon, sweetness, and char of the OWA turn up here and there, more in the finish than on the palate, but it's a nice counterpoint to the rye. The rye has a family resemblence to the other LDIs, but there is little of the sharpness I've come to associate with LDI. It's not exactly a super-complex whiskey, but I'm really into it. I think it's about as complex as Ritt BiB, but there's more rye and the finish is a bit longer and holds together better.
EDIT: as time goes by, it has changed in the glass. Lots more of the typical LDI flavors. It gave me an idea, though, to mix maybe 4 parts rye to 1 part OWA. Pretty good! I think I'll vat some more.
Sorry to post off topic, but I got a pickle juice flavor in a recent bottle of 4R SB. I tasted it two nights in a row. After sitting on the shelf for a few weeks, I no longer got this character. Any idea what's causing this character? Are there any whiskeys (other than LDI ryes) that you've noticed it in?Quote:
Originally Posted by bad_scientist
I have it on good authority there will be a 6 year released next year.:rolleyes:
Just an update on the taste of the one I got on Monday (possibly the very last whiskey I'll ever get online).
All the barrel flavors are gone, and now it's all the traditional LDI flavor. I'm happy it's higher proof than the others that are readily available, but it's not exactly special in its profile. I did, however, find that it makes for a really, really good old-fashioned, much more distinctive than most.
I get the pickle juice flavor also with the 4 year old, if I don't add water. It goes away with a splash of water. The sales guy at Spec's says he think the Willet 4 year was the best rye they had including the Handy. I am inclined to agree. Fantastic stuff!
If you want a 5-6 year old Willett rye.... buy a bottle of Bulleit Rye. Same juice, albeit at a different bottling ABV, at a much better price,